"Just using the technology"

This is our first year of a one-to-one laptop program in our school. Lately it seems that I am being told a story by a teacher or a student and I realize that it would have been different without the technology. Everyone is "just using the technology" and they don't even realize how it has impacted their learning.

The stories that I hear contain information about better communication between students, between students and teachers but the people telling the story are focusing on the results not the technology that made it work. This reminds me of the impact I experienced in industry when email became widespread. Can you imagine writing a memo, photo copying it and having it placed into the mail box? We don't do this in the "real world" anymore so why would this be the way we communicate in school?

I have heard of students emailing teachers questions about their assignments and getting answers that have helped them to complete the assignment. This has allowed students and teachers to communicate with out having to search the halls of the school to find them to ask a question and get an answer.

Students are starting to take advantage of their own down time. I have seen some students look to see what they would be learning about in their next class by looking at the teacher's moodle site. Sometimes they have even began to think about or complete the do now before they enter the classroom.

Students are now able to carry almost all of the resources for all their classes all the time! It's all in the laptop. This has allowed students to review information or jot down a thought about a topic at anytime during the school day.

The challenge now is to invision what would our school look like today if the technology went away?

Why One To One Laptop Computers in School Make Sense vs. Desktop Installs.

1. Utilization of Computer Resources
2. Software Availability
3. Log in Time
4. User Customization.
5. Flexibility.

• Inefficiencies in scheduling cause most desktops to be utilized less then 240 minutes a day. Teachers are scheduled to teach 240 minutes a day and most teachers in our district have their own room. This means that these computers are idle when the teacher is not scheduled to teach a class. In the One To One laptop model students have constant access to a computer customized to their needs. These machines travel with the students so that they are used for the entire school day and in addition they are used at home to complete homework assignments. This leads to about a %200 percent increase in utilization.
• In order to achieve one to one computing in a desktop environment it is necessary to purchase many more machines due to the inefficiencies in scheduling rooms and class size. Currently rooms need to be set up with desktops equal to or greater then the maximum class size. This leads to rooms with computers that may not get used on a daily basis in every class. It also means that if one student is added to the class that additional electric, desks, network cables must be installed and setup.
• In a desktop model computers in certain classes may have specialized software installed on them such as graphic design software. In order for students to work on assignments they need access to this software. Currently they only have access in that class to that software, or the district must purchase and install software for all desktops. In a one to one laptop model the software is purchased on the needs of the students classes. It can be installed on their laptop and then taken with them where ever they need it. This allows students to work on their assignments outside of class. This also gives them more opportunities to learn how to use the software. In more affluent school districts parents could purchase the software and computers for the students to use at home. This places most of our students at a great disadvantage.
• In the current desktop model students have to log on to computers in each class and log out at the end of class. This process averages about 5 minutes per class depending on the computers and network performance. If a student has 6-8 classes a day and they were to try to use the computers in every class this could waste 30-40 minutes a day! In a one to one laptop model students can leave their computers logged in and just close the lid between classes. This allows their computers be be available to be used in about 15-30 seconds. It also significantly decreases the spikes in network traffic when all students try to log on as the bell rings.
• In the current desktop model, if someone does not turn the computers each day and make sure that general maintenance is done (Software updates) students may not be able to use the computers when they need them. They could have out of date versions of programs or even the operating system. In a one to one model students will be using their computer all the time, this will minimize the amount of time wasted doing software updates.
• In a one to one laptop model users can customize their computer to fit their needs and preferences. This allows the users to quickly access the information they need in the way that they prefer to see it. In a desktop model the computers do not retain settings for each user and they do not transfer to other computers when they log on. This forces all users to use the computers in a way that is not the most efficient for them.
• One to One laptops also offer flexible learning environments. The computers travel with the students so that they are always available to be used like paper and a pencil. In a desktop model careful planning is key to being able to use the resources. Room layout in a one to one laptop model can change based on the needs of the lesson. Desktop computers are much less flexible and typically can not be moved.

Planning Planning Planning

This is the start of a blog that I hope to use to capture the progress of a school that will be going through a major transformation this year. I will try to share the good of what works along with what is not working so that maybe other may be able to help us.
In order to improve student achievement and engagement I will be working with the following tools.

• Google Apps for Education. (Major training and roll out for Sept 1)
• Moodle. (Entering my 5th year, this year will help others to get it rolling.)
• PowerSchool.
• Drupal (Portal, System Integration.)

My current task is to develop a set of questions that can be used in an interview format with teachers to help access their comfort with new and existing technology in the school and how they use it to improve student learning.

What questions would you ask teachers?